Ameren And Sierra Club Reach $2 Million Settlement

Ameren reaches a settlement agreement with the Sierra Club over numerous “alleged violations” to the environment. The settlement requires Ameren to “establish a $2 million fund for environmentally beneficial projects.”

“Still a Long Way to Go” Says Sierra Club, Urges Transition to Clean Energy

St. Louis, MO — Today, a settlement was filed between Ameren Missouri and the Sierra Club that will require the energy company to establish a $2 million fund for environmentally beneficial projects. Specifically, Ameren must provide at least $1 million from that fund to incentivize clean electric bus infrastructure in the St. Louis region, while any remaining funds could be spent on community solar projects.

The settlement resolves legal action taken by the Sierra Club in 2014 to address Ameren’s nearly 8,000 alleged violations of Ameren’s federal Clean Air Act permit at the Labadie, Meramec, and Rush Island coal-fired power plants between 2009 and 2013. The Sierra Club settled, in part, because Ameren announced a remedy to the most egregious alleged violations by setting its Meramec plant on a path to retirement. While this is progress, Ameren still has a long way to go.

Andy Knott, Senior Campaign Representative with the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in Missouri said, “Reducing air pollution from diesel buses will improve public health and is a positive step forward for the city of St. Louis. Yet, this is small progress compared to what is needed to make our air safe: Ameren transitioning away from dirty coal entirely.”

The Sierra Club urges Ameren to engage with appropriate stakeholders in a meaningful public process to determine how bus electrification and community solar development will bring the highest benefit to disenfranchised communities. Ameren should also embrace clean energy, step up investments in wind, solar, and efficiency, and become a leader in Missouri and the Midwest by committing to reach 50 percent clean energy by 2030, with the ultimate goal of reaching 100 percent clean energy by 2050.